Chennai: The Centre plans to start at least 20 centres of excellence in medical research at the best performing colleges across the country, on the lines of Harvard Medical School and Johns Hopkins University, to encourage students, Indian Council of Medical Research director general Soumya Swaminathan said here on Monday.

Tamil Nadu has managed to bring down maternal and infant mortality rates, but its research output remains poor despite rich clinical material and resources, she said. “Countries like Sri Lanka are better in terms of both quality and quantity of research per million population,” she said at the Tamil Nadu Dr MGR Medical University where 19,183 UG and PG students were conferred degrees in medicine, dentistry, AYUSH and allied health science courses at the 29th convocation. Around 2,925 students received degrees in person. Governor and university chancellor Ch Vidyasagar Rao presented medals to 166 students for their exceptional performance. PhD degrees were conferred on 59 students.

Dr Swaminathan said, “In the 90s, when I went to Javadu hills for a TB programme. There were no government programmes then. People wanted to know why we were developing a programme for TB when they did not have a government doctor who could offer primary care. People said they had to walk up to 20 km if they were unwell. Unless researchers ask the community what they want we would not be able to do justice.”

Institutions should start departments for research like JIPMER, Puduchery, which now has a new dean for medical research, she said. At the undergraduate level 8,000 students from across the country, particularly the south, apply for ICMR short term studentships and 1,000 students receive grants for a 3-6 month project.